Smiling Faces - The Undisputed Truth

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

I have always been an attorney watcher.
Some people are interested in Hollywood stars and some follow the
lives of royalty, but neither have ever held my attention for long.
My interest in the zealous defenders in our legal system has
intensified since the mid-1990s; more so following my arrest in
November of 2001.

Over the last few years, since starting
this blog, I have been in contact with many attorneys for one reason
or another. On occasion an attorney will initiate the contact to
thank me for supporting a client in my blog posts, or other times to
provide specific case documents so I do not have to pay in PACER, or
even to make a point concerning a client. Other attorneys would
rather my blog posts disappeared, though I rarely knock any attorney
here. Over time my thoughts have evolved and I realize that often it
is the defendant that is the problem and not the attorney.

I have learned much about defense
attorneys since my own case began. Some are the zealous defenders
that we need in the US criminal justice system, some don't care and
just file the minimum required paperwork, and yet others should never
refer to themselves as attorneys. In most cases with multiple
defendants, an attorney or two will stand out in the crowd. This post
is about attorneys that stand out and deserve recognition as zealous
legal defenders.

I am inspired to reiterate a statement
made in a post several years ago to defendants in criminal cases:

You must play a
serious part in the fight for your life and if you don't, then you'll
understand when you lose. Don't dare blame it all on the attorney.

The statement was made in the context
of a discussion relating to organized crime / RICO cases, which are
often a fight for life. A good defendant can motivate most attorneys.
In this respect, the ultimate outcome of the case must also fall on
the defendant. What makes a good defendant would be a different
discussion left for another day.

In the course of my blogging and my
research, I have managed to find some of the best defenders in the
system; attorneys that really fight to the end for their clients. I
include a notable case or other information following the contact
information when relevant. The list is in no particular order, except
for Wolverton - he will always be first to me.

Steve Wolverton was my trial attorney and the
law office represented me about halfway through the case through my
acquittal by the jury on both counts filed by prosecutors. I would recommend Mr. Wolverton or Mr. Gutin to anyone facing any criminal charges in Central Florida in state or federal cases.

Larry Walters is a First Amendment
attorney and also practices criminal defense. He has zealously
defended far too many defendants to add a list herein. If you are
opening any type of adult business and you can afford a quality
consultation with the best in the industry, you will want to call
Walters.

Stephen Laiche represented longtime
massage parlor owner Nan O'Reilly in a case that I blogged about
several years ago, though the posts are now removed. Prosecutors
wanted to give her decades in prison, but Laiche worked out a plea
deal with no prison, six years probation, and hefty fines.

Sadly, Nan was found dead in a Las
Vegas hotel room in March of 2011. She faced a charge of violating
probation on a trespassing count in Colorado and the possible
sentence of 30 years over the violation. In the end, it was the adult
business prosecution that killed her.

This attorney represented Jennifer
Churchill, the Photoshop lady in the Classy DC Escorts case, pro
bono. Churchill only edited photos for the Classy DC owner to place
on his website and had no other connection to this outfit, but was
indicted on a federal racketeering count. Kerri Ruttenberg defended
her zealously and was ready for trial; however a plea deal was worked
out wherein she pleaded to the equivalent of a traffic infraction and
received a $500 fine. So Churchill went from racketeering to less
than a misdemeanor. Excellent attorney!

Mr. Taylor represented Alexandr Postica
in the case that I refer to as the Orlando conspiracy trial. The
Orlando Sentinel referred to it repeatedly as a "sex
trafficking case" but it wasn't and there was no one charged
with any such count. The 11 defendants from Eastern Europe all opted
to go to trial and it lasted close to three months.

Though Postica was convicted, it could
only be attributed to juror confusion in an extremely over-prosecuted
case. Each defendant also had a translator to further add to the
confusion. Postica was released from jail within a month of the
conclusion of the trial. Of all attorneys involved in this case,
Taylor most zealously defended his client, even though this was a
contract referral from the federal courts. He practices criminal
defense and other areas of law.

Mr. Sears fought zealously for his
client Kuraye Akuiyibo in the Classy DC Escorts case. In the end the
defendant opted to make a plea and was given the best imaginable
sentence under the circumstances.

Well there you have it - my list of
zealous defenders that are currently practicing law somewhere in the
US.

Choosing an attorney is an important and
sometimes complicated undertaking. If you are in a position that
requires the assistance of an attorney, make sure that everything is
on the table and clear before signing a contract or paying the first
$. I hope that I have not missed any currently practicing attorneys that I know.
If I have, this post will be updated at a later time.

If a defendant in a federal case wants to submit an attorney's information and their own name, I will be happy to verify that there was in fact a zealous defense by researching in PACER and add the name to this list.